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Leading community housing provider Compass Housing Services has appointed Professor Caroline McMillen as its newest board member.

Professor McMillen is the current Chief Scientist for South Australia and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle.  She holds a BA (Honours) and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford and completed her medical training graduating with an MB BChir from the University of Cambridge.

Compass Group Managing Director Greg Budworth said Professor McMillen brought impressive expertise to the Compass board.

“In addition to her impressive academic career, Professor McMillen has extensive experience as a company director having served on the Boards of the Australian Business Higher Education Round Table, Universities Australia, the Universities Admissions Centre and as a Business Events Sydney Ambassador,” he said.

“She has also served on international disciplinary bodies, research policy and assessment panels and industry groups, including the Australia Automotive Industry Innovation Council, the South Australian Premier’s Climate Change Council and the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council.”

Professor McMillen said she looked forward to working with a company that played a vital role on the frontline of the housing crisis. 

“As both a service provider and housing advocate, Compass sets the standard within the community housing industry,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to working with my fellow directors and rest of the team as the company pursues its vision for a world in which all people have safe and adequate housing and are engaged in sustainable communities.”

ENDS

Media contact: Martin Kennedy 0418 353 913

Further information:

Professor Caroline McMillen commenced in the role as Chief Scientist for South Australia in October 2018 after serving as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle for 7 years between 2011 and 2018. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and a Bragg Member of the Royal Institution, Australia. 

She has served in academic leadership positions at Monash University, the University of Adelaide and at the University of South Australia where she held the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation.

Professor McMillen’s research focussed on the early origins of metabolic and cardiovascular health in adult life and she was a member of the PMSEIC Working Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander maternal, fetal and post-natal health.  She is also an active champion for girls and women in science and she was a Member of the Expert Advisory Group for Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE). 

Throughout her career Professor McMillen has been committed to building collaborations between universities, government, industry and communities that drive innovation and have a positive impact on the economic, social and cultural health of Australia.

Regional markets not exempt.

Australia has retained its status as one of the least affordable countries in the world according to the most recent Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. 

Leading community housing provider Compass Housing Services said the results showed the need for urgent government action on housing.

The Demographia survey measures housing affordability by comparing median prices with median household incomes.  All five of Australia’s major housing markets (population >1 million) were in the “severely unaffordable” category and, despite recent price falls, Sydney and Melbourne maintained their positions as among the most unaffordable housing markets in the world.

Most expensive major markets (pop > 1million)

 
However Compass Housing’s Manager of Public Affairs Martin Kennedy said it wasn’t just major markets where affordability was an issue.

“The survey’s findings are consistent with those of the Compass Housing Affordable Housing Income Gap Report, which last year found housing stress was not restricted to capital cities and was not only experienced by low income households,” he said.

Of the 23 Australian cities and towns included in the Demographia report, only Gladstone, with a median multiple of 2.9, is deemed to be affordable.  

Rockhampton, with a median multiple of 3.8 is deemed “moderately unaffordable”, while Albury-Wodonga, Alice Springs, Darwin, Mackay and Townsville are “seriously unaffordable” with median multiples between 4.1 and 5.0.

The remaining 16 markets are all deemed “severely unaffordable”.  Remarkably, both the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have median multiples higher than London.

Mr Kennedy said the findings prove that although prices have begun to decline in some areas, they remain out of reach for median income households.

 “Prices might be falling at the moment, but the reality is in some areas it would take a fall of 50% or more just to get back into the ‘moderately unaffordable’ category,” he said.

“The broader economic consequences of such an outcome, if it came to pass, would be severe and could result in even higher levels of housing stress”.

The most recent Productivity Commission report found more than 50% of low-income households in the private rental market were already experiencing housing stress.

There are five simple things governments can do to fix Australia's housing system so that it works for everyone. 

• Reset our tax system to make it fairer for ordinary Australians wanting to buy a home.
• Appoint a minister for housing & develop a strategy to deliver 500,000 social and affordable homes.
• Improve renters’ rights by getting rid of “no grounds” evictions and unfair rent increases.
• Increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance for the thousands of families who are struggling to pay the rent.
• Develop a National Plan to end homelessness by 2030.

 
Find out more at: www.everybodyshome.com.au

ENDS

Media contact: Martin Kennedy 0418 353 913 / martink@compasshousing.org